Thursday, March 01, 2012

"I have to coupon. We don't qualify for food stamps."

From Instapundit. Government's subsidizing the purchase of any item tends to make a consumer less concerned with its cost. Even making borrowing easier loosens financial discipline. Yesterday a wealthy client and I met with his accountant, and at a break we discussed financial discipline:

The client said he is attending a Dave Ramsey seminar. At that seminar, he said, the video states that people who use credit cards spend 17% more than people who use debit cards, even those credit credit users who pay off the card completely every month. I would like to know about the study that produced that finding, but I can see that in our own household's financial behavior. Between Carol and me, I am by far the primary offender.